Easy March Madness Money: NCAA bracket tips for casual fan

Mar. 17, 2013
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The NCAA has named 25 finalists for the greatest March Madness team of all time. Fans can vote for the award starting in early January. Here's a look at some of the notable finalists (in no order). / Brian Spurlock, USA TODAY Sports

by Reid Cherner, USA TODAY Sports

by Reid Cherner, USA TODAY Sports

If you are reading this, we'll assume that you plan to get no work done in the office this week.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

In fact, that just might be the best money-making idea of the year.

All across the USA, productivity comes to a grinding halt as the work force ponders their NCAA brackets.

And we've all worked with Bracketheads, those individuals who apply logic, trends and higher math to find the teams that will survive and advance.

But what of those who are filling out a bracket for the first time and haven't seen a game this year?

Should they go by color or team nickname? Why not?

For those of us "experts" who have toiled for decades, knowledge is not always power.

Here are some tips for the first timer. Some of them might sound silly, but that doesn't mean you can't win a title with them:

Numbers game: Everyone talks about the seeds, and of course the lower the number of the seed the more highly regarded a team is. In the opening round, a No. 1 seed has never lost (112-0) to a No. 16. But that doesn't mean you can always trust the math. Your best bet is picking a No. 9 over a No. 8 (58-54) but there can also be value in the No. 10 vs. a No. 7 (45-67) and the No. 12 vs. a No. 5 (38-74). But remember this, only teams seeded 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 have won national titles.

You're my man blue: If you think it is silly to pick by team colors, then pass on that. But at your own risk. In 2003, the Syracuse Orangeman won the national title. Since then, no team without blue in its colors has won a championship.

You might want to zig instead of Zag: Since the coaches began voting in the USA TODAY Sports poll in 1993, the final season No. 1 has won the title just four times. This year's No.1 is Gonzaga.

Can I buy a vowel: The tournament went to a seeding system in 1979. In the 34 tournaments played, only four times has the champion team begun with a vowel. Be careful tossing out Indiana though. It won two of those titles.

The I's have it: Not all vowels should be avoided. Since 1991, the coach of the national champion has had an "I" in his last name 15 times. Several of those (Mike Krzyzewski, Duke; Roy Williams, North Carolina; Jim Boeheim, Syracuse; Tom Izzo, Michigan State and Rick Pitino, Louisville) have strong teams this year.

I didn't catch the name: Since 1991, the winning coach's first name has had either three or four letters.

Seed for thought: Give careful consideration to picking too many high seeds in your Final Four. If you add up all the seeds (lowest number would be four if all the No. 1s made it) in the Final Four you don't want to go above 14. That has happened only five times since 1979, when the seeded system was implemented. On caveat: four of the five times it happened, the number was 20 or above.

Animal magnetism: Not since 2003 has there been a Final Four without at least one team having an animal as a mascot. In five of those seasons, the national champion's nickname was an animal.